Buying A Home
bosslady13
member
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Purchasing an older home
We are just starting our search for a house, and so far we (especially my husband) have been drawn to some of the older (1900-1930's) character homes. I like that they are more unique, but am concerned about the hidden costs that might be associated w/purchasing an older home. I'm trying to come up with a list of "hidden" things that may still need replacing despite a home looking like it's been very well updated. Things people have told me so far include heaters, a/c, windows, roof, siding, insulation...what else should we be asking about when we go to look at some of these houses? Thanks!
Re: Purchasing an older home
Good luck! I bought a house built in 1911 and love it! There was (and still is) a LOT to fix. Make sure to get a home inspection...that is good advice for any home.
Probably some of the most common problems you will see with older homes are asbestos rooves and "knob and tube" wiring. Run for the hills with those! Older homes are also much less likely to have insulation inside the walls, double paned windows, and central a/c and heat. They will sometimes have lead paint also.
For me (my house is a duplex), I had to refinish the floors one one side and replace the flooring on the other (though, not the sub flooring). This had to be done before I could even move in. Then, over time, I had to add gutters. I had to replace all the siding and added in insulation while I was at it. I bought new windows. I needed to repaint the house exterior. Fortunately, the roof was fine and the "knob and tube" had been replaced already.
The other thing you don't expect with buying an older home is I swear there is nothing in it that will be standard, lol. Just doing something as simple as changing the kitchen cabinet hardware became a major project, lol. In fact, my replacing the old siding started when I really badly needed to replace just a small portion of it...and was going to do the rest a few years down the road. Except..oh wait...that type of siding is no longer made like that in that size. Next thing I know, we pushed up the "replace all siding" project. And wait, now that we are replacing the siding, we have to paint it. So that pushed up the "paint the house exterior someday" project, lol.
Moral of the story? Always budget for WAY more than what you think you will ever need when starting on a home improvement project, lol
. Especially with an older home.
Oh! Something else that can't always be seen, but is a danger in older homes is rotted wood especially in structural elements. Or a, weak bad sub-floor...you'll be most likely to see this in a "water" area like a bathroom or kitchen. Look for weak spots in the flooring and places were it looks like a leak might have existed.
For example, when I had my new siding installed, I had to pony up $600 more than planned to replace and/or fortify some areas that had rotten wood.
Honestly, a lot of people will freak out over asbestos and lead paint, which is just silly. Asbestos isn't a big deal as long as it's contained and not exposed to the air. Lead paint is the same way--only ingesting the dust or chips will harm you. So if you're sanding your walls, wear a respirator. Take care of peeling paint, because you just have to assume it has lead and you don't want chips hanging around your house, especially if you have kids. But, so long as the paint isn't coming off of the wall, just the lead being there won't hurt you.
Foundation problems would be a big concern to look for--if a wall in the basement is bowed, that can get expensive. Also, make sure the electric is at least somewhat updated--not only for your own sake, but the bank might not approve your loan if there is an old fuse box instead of a new electric box of circuit breakers. Water in the basement is also a problem that I wouldn't want to deal with, especially if it doesn't have a sump pump or at least a spot for a sump pump.
Another utility related thing someone mentioned was heat and AC. We're in the process of getting estimates for this right now. Our furnace is from 1926 and actually still works--however, the amount of energy it uses is insane. We also don't have central air and want to add that. We're very lucky because our house doesn't have radiant heat, so we don't need to have any additional duct work done, which can make adding AC very expensive. So while radiant heat is lovely to have (and old radiators can add a lot of charm), know that if the house doesn't already have central AC and you want to add it, they will have to rip open all of the walls and retro-fit them for ducts, which will be a pain and cost lots of $.
One other thing that a lot of people don't understand about older homes is that you DO NOT need to replace everything. Unlike newer homes, many things in older homes were built to be repaired and last forever--planned obsolescence just wasn't a thing that they did. Unless it's in really bad shape and beyond saving, try to repair something before you replace it. ESPECIALLY WINDOWS!!! Don't tear out your old windows! You can repair them, for a much lower cost, and if you put a storm window on the outside, you will have just as efficient of a window as most new ones. Most of the heat in your home is going to be lost because many old homes lack insulation, NOT because of the windows. A great resource on this topic is old house guy--he has a lot of informative diagrams and such to help explain the parts of your old windows and how you can repair them (and why you shouldn't replace them): http://www.oldhouseguy.com/windows/.
Also, please don't ruin the character of your home if you do decide to buy an old one. Do some research as to what kind of architectural style it is, and read up on old homes. Try to keep "updates" in a style that flows with your house, and keep your focus on restoration rather than renovation. Old House Journal is a great resource, and the book House Styles in America: The Old-House Journal Guide to the Architecture of American Homes is a great place to start. And whatever you do, if you have wood trim that is wood finish and isn't painted, consider yourself very lucky and DO NOT PAINT IT.
Sorry, I could go on all day--like I said, I'm really passionate about historic preservation and it hurts my heart when I see people "updating" old homes making them look exactly the same as cookie cutter new homes. If you're going to do that, just buy a new house--don't ruin an old one!
As far as during your search goes, spend a lot of time in the basement, and take a look in the attic if you can get to it, and do a good look around the outside of the house too to find "hidden" problems. And don't listen too much people who only know things about homes that are from the 1970s and newer because those homes were built very differently (with aspects of the home meant to be replaced rather than repaired), and most of their advice won't be relevant to you.
I gave my warning about an asbestos roof (not asbestos in general) because most home owner's insurance will not cover a home that has one. And an asbestos roof is obvious. In fact, it is usually included in the listing information because (I think) it has to be disclosed.
True, lead paint isn't a big deal as long as you don't have any small children around who might put paint chips in their mouth or something. And really, even with an older home, if it has been painted since the 70s (or whenever lead paint was banned) of course it won't have any.
Bad electrical work should come up in an inspection. It is the rotted wood that, for me, is the scariest one because that's something that is often hidden...and was, lol. Though it was about what I expected, so it wasn't too shocking at least.